Harry Potter and the Elements of Magic
by Lupinswolfie
Summary: For years, all Harry has known is that the the most evil wizard wants him dead. With the help of new powers, new friends, and a love that rivals all, he'll fight to prove himself. But will he finally die trying? After all, only one can survive...


Hermione stood at the foot of her bed, gently placing her possessions in piles of what she would need to take with her and what she would leave behind. She was leaving her parents and heading to the Burrow right after Harry's birthday, but she needed to make sure she had everything she would need for their yearlong search for the horcruxes. With Dumbledore dead, she could only hope that Harry knew what still had to be done, since it all fell onto their shoulders now. Smiling to herself sadly, she decided that Harry was probably moping around in his room, feeling as though the failings of the world were his entire fault and there was nothing left for him to do. She would change that soon enough, she thought, throwing all but one of her Defence Against the Dark Arts books into the 'keep' pile and chucking _Defensive Magical Theory _into the bin without a second thought; she was a bit more careful placing _The Monster Book of Monsters_ into her trunk and smiled to herself as she thought of Hagrid.

She would take what she could, but leave the things she knew she could not. Come September, she would not be going back to Hogwarts, if it even reopened. Instead, she would be risking her very life with her two best friends as they tried to save the entire world--Wizarding and Muggle alike. It would all sound extremely adventurous if it were not incredibly scary. She was so lost in her own thoughts that, when her mother timidly knocked on her door, Hermione dropped the next book she had been packing and spun around with her wand raised.

"Hermione, dear," Mrs. Granger said from the doorway to Hermione's bedroom as she eyed her daughters' wand intently, "I hardly think you're in any danger here."

"I'm sorry, Mum, forgive me," Hermione said quickly, and then noticed the strange expression on her mother's face. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, dear," she responded, walking over to Hermione and cupping her cheeks lovingly. "It's just that you remind me so much of someone." Eyeing the wand again, she asked, "Is there something I should know about? Something that has you on edge?"

"No, Mum, everything's fine." Hermione found herself lying once more to her parents. How could she not? She could not say there was a war going on and that their only daughter would be standing at the very front line of it all; that would more than frighten them. There were times she thought her mother knew more of the magical world than she let on, times when things that should have surprised her did not and times when she seemed to understand things without them being explained, and for that, Hermione was grateful. She had spoken of Harry and Ron in passing, but tried to keep their minds blissfully clear of all things 'Wizard' to put them more at ease. Thinking of telling them she had helped save a convicted killer was laughable, more so than telling them that a werewolf had been one of her professors, she had time-travelled, and also fought against evil wizards. She could only imagine their reaction at learning about Lord Voldemort and her own involvement in thwarting him multiple times.

"Hermione, you just came home; why are you already packing?" She shook her head quickly, as if she did not want to hear the answer. Hermione knew it hurt her parents that she had spent most of her summers at the Burrow, and several of her holidays as well, but they seemed to understand that she was mature enough to know what she wanted. Finally, her mum said, "Lunch is-"

She was cut off abruptly when the entire house began to rumble and shake; pictures fell from the walls, vases tumbled off the dressers and broke into thousands of pieces and her mother shrieked, bringing her father running to Hermione's room just as their television fell with an ominous crash downstairs and the front door blew wide open.

"What's going on?" her father asked shakily, ready to defend his wife and his daughter.

"I don't know. Hermione, what are you-"

"Both of you must go to the basement now!" Hermione said sternly. "No matter what you hear, stay there and do NOT come out. I'll come get you soon."

"Hermione, what is going on?" Her mother was worried, and rightfully so. Only another wizard, one bearing the Dark Mark, could have made her feeble wards shake in such a manner.

"We're not leaving you!" her father yelled, unwilling to leave her alone in danger.

"Unless you can suddenly perform magic," she uncharacteristically hissed at her parents as she shoved them down the back staircase and to the entrance leading to their basement, "then you'll only be in the way. Now go!"

With a long, confused look at their daughter, the two tried to argue again, only to have Hermione point her wand at them and send them both behind the door, which she locked and silenced before she could think about the repercussions.

"Well done, Miss Granger," a silky voice drawled from behind her, making the hairs along her neck stand up and her breath catch in her throat. "Took you long enough to hide them, but an adequate attempt nonetheless."

Hermione turned swiftly, wand raised and ready, only to have it stripped from her hand and caught by the wizard before her. Her eyes widened in fright as she tried to think of a way around him while simultaneously wondering what he would do with her. Was Ron safe? Harry?

"Do not bother thinking of ways to escape, Miss Granger; you are well aware of the fact that you are no match for me. Now, kindly walk into the Lounge where we shall have a little discussion about what you have done wrong."

Walking slowly around him, she turned and sped down the hallway, grabbing a silver candlestick that had once belonged to the grandmother everyone said she favoured in looks. She threw it as hard as she could in his direction and then watched pitifully as he destroyed it right in front of her. Wand pointed at her chest, he slowly advanced on her, his face filled with hatred and annoyance, his eyes filled with warning as his chest heaved in anger.

"Sit down, Miss Granger, or I will be forced to make this very unpleasant for you," he snarled. "You made a feeble attempt at setting wards and had no plans in place for your parents should your home be attacked. Whatever form of defence you call that, was pathetic and nothing more. What else could you possibly hope to accomplish?"

Hermione sat on the sofa and regarded her _ex-_professor closely. "W…what do you want?" she finally squeaked out, before finding her voice, and her anger, and adding, "You must realize this won't work."

"What is it that you feel will not work?"

"Using me to lure Harry to you; it won't work. He's far too intelligent for that now."

Severus Snape scoffed at her answer. "For starters, I am not using you to lure Potter anywhere. As for his intelligence, he has yet to show any."

"Harry is very intelligent!" Hermione yelled, jumping to her feet only to be pushed back down by his wand.

"You, Miss Granger, are the only one to have shown a modicum of intelligence between the three of you, but I am starting to question my decision."

"What decision is that? Who you wish to kill next?" she asked bravely, angrily.

His upper lip curled in disdain as anger flared through his body and sparks shot from his wand. Bringing himself fully back under control, he responded icily, "There are many things that you do not know, foolish girl, and you should learn the facts before you speak in such a flippant manner."

"Are you saying you didn't kill Professor Dumbledore?" she asked meekly, anger abating as curiosity and fear took hold.

He sighed heavily before continuing. "No, I am saying that I had no choice in the matter, just as I have no choice in coming to you. If things are going to progress in the manner that Albus deemed necessary, then his plans must still be followed. Would you prefer he had died at the hands, and teeth, of that revolting werewolf? Or perhaps I should have allowed Bellatrix Lestrange to play with him first? His death was imminent, but _he _chose the manner in which it would occur and I could not deny him that."

"He was dying?" she asked, understanding dawning on her even as she remained awed that he would tell her this secret. "His hand!" she squealed suddenly as she jumped from the couch and began pacing the room in thought, ignoring her professor when his eyes narrowed. "He was already dying from whatever injured his hand! Of course he would know; he always knew…a plan to kill him…Harry was right all along…and Malfoy couldn't…and then you had to…and then you fled…but you must maintain your cover…simply incredible…" Her thoughts came out broken, but Severus followed each and breathed a sigh of relief that he would have to explain things no further to her.

"Now that we appear to be on the same page," he drawled coldly, "I can explain my reasoning for being here."

Hermione turned back towards him as though she has forgotten he was there and took her seat once more, her full concentration on the man before her and only a small bit of fear remaining. "Why are you here?"

"It would appear that I will need your assistance."

"Assistance? In what? Harry will absolutely kill me for talking to you without him. He'd probably be just in doing so. How do I know I can trust you?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and she couldn't tell if it was a grimace or a smile that crossed his lips.

"I had the foresight to bring my proof, Miss Granger. It was obvious to me that you would need indisputable evidence." She watched him warily as he pulled out a small object and an even smaller vial full of a smoky substance she believed to be a memory, as Harry had described it. Which meant the other object was…

"Do you know what these are, Miss Granger?"

"A Pensieve and a memory," she said confidently.

"Yes." He took out his wand and enlarged the Pensieve, a smoky substance swirling in its depths. Tipping the vial, he poured the entire contents into it, before motioning for her to enter it.

"Sir," she said questioningly, "I've never used a pensieve before."

"Simply place your face inside the memory and it will take care of the rest," he said as though it should be obvious.

Leaning forward, she allowed the tendrils of memory to engulf her and pull her down inside before landing unsteadily in a quiet office. Looking around, she recognized the portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses aligning the wall and realized she was in Dumbledore's office. What could Professor Snape possibly want to show her here? Voices drew her attention to the right, and she watched the scene unfold.

"_Professor, please! You don't understand!" a pale young man with long, black hair was saying as he pleaded with Professor Dumbledore. _

"_I understand explicitly, Severus! I must admit to being curious about how long it would take you to realize your folly, but permit me to say that I am surprised it happened so quickly."_

"_I would have come sooner had I known, Professor. I wouldn't have told him at all had I known." Severus Snape remained uncharacteristically on his knees, his voice quivering as he pleaded with the headmaster for something that Hermione did not understand._

"_Is this only because of the child?"_

"_The child? Of course not! It is because of her and her alone…because of Lily." He added the last bit quietly, as if by saying her name, he was committing something unpardonable._

_A new voice joined them then, and Hermione watched a young red haired woman join the two men. Her eyes blazed a brilliant green, and it was obvious this was Lily Potter. "Severus, you have disappointed me. James told me you would be the first in line to take the Mark, yet I defended you; even when Sirius and Remus told me it was true, I defended you. But here you are, the Death Eater who betrayed us. I thought we were friends, Severus. I thought I meant something to you."_

_Hermione gasped in shock at the look of pain and utter loss in her old professor's eyes. He looked completely devastated. "We are, Lily. You mean something to me," he said, with a passion Hermione had never heard. Then his voice dipped low and sad once more. "You mean everything."_

"_And still you sold my son to Voldemort? You hear a prophecy and you run to protect _Him_?"_

"_I didn't know!" he cried, begging her to understand. "I had no idea the prophecy concerned you. Come with me! Come with me and I will keep you safe!"_

"_It was more than me, Severus, it was my son! My son is everything and, because of you, Voldemort will kill him. A child, Severus, and you have signed his death warrant with your own blood!"_

"_No!" Severus shouted in anguish. Hermione was so taken aback by his utter heartbreak and by how coldly both Lily and Dumbledore looked down at him, that she never expected his next words. "I will protect him with my own life, I swear it!"_

_Air rippled through the room, an acknowledgement of his words._

"_You will do more than that, Severus," Dumbledore said without emotion. "You will make an Unbreakable Vow with Lily to protect him, to do whatever it takes to see him safely to adulthood."_

_Severus' head dropped even lower before he looked up, his eyes meeting Lily's with a firm resolution. "I will."_

_Lily bent down before him, warmth finally showing in her eyes as she took his hand in hers and the headmaster placed his wand on their joined hands._

"_Will you, Severus Snape, do everything in your power to protect Harry Potter with your very life?"_

"_I will," he whispered, a bright yellow light entwining around their hands._

"_And will you, Severus Snape, ensure his survival above all other things in your life?"_

"_I will." This time the light surrounding their hands was green._

"_And will you," Dumbledore began again and Hermione found herself cringing away from the look on his face, "swear your allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix and agree to be used as a spy for our cause, no matter the cost to yourself?" _

_Hermione, Lily, and Severus all gasped in surprise, eyes snapping to his face, which appeared to be carved from granite. Finally, Severus nodded. "I will," he whispered, so softly Hermione almost missed it. Red light shot from Dumbledore's wands and raced around the other two twining strands before they all disappeared inside the palms of the two captors._

"_Professor," Lily said shakily as she took Severus' hand an allowed him to help her stand. "You can't ask for such a thing from him! That's suicide!"_

_At least someone seemed to be taking his side, Hermione thought bitterly, suddenly obtaining a new understanding for a man she had almost loathed, but refusing to feel sorry for him._

"_I can and I have. Severus, we shall go over the details later, but for now, you will return to Voldemort and act as though nothing untoward has occurred. Come to me within the fortnight and we shall discuss your plans."_

"_Of course, Headmaster," he replied, his voice dead, empty. Hermione knew then that this was the beginning of the Severus Snape she had come to know._

_He turned and walked to the door. "Oh, and Severus," Dumbledore said softly, a worried frown along his lips and in his eyes. _

"_Yes, sir?"_

"_This is the only way. I hope in time you will come to realize that."_

_Without a word, Severus walked swiftly from the room and Hermione felt herself jerk back to the present._

"I do not wish to discuss that with you, Miss Granger. Take it for what it is and speak of what you have seen with no one."

"Surely, you plan to let Harry know what happened. You have to tell the Order as well, so they'll stop hunting for you."

His hand raised slightly in the air to still her ramblings. "No one, and I do mean no one, Miss Granger, may know that I have been here. Nor are they allowed to know what I have told you or what you have seen. If you can not agree to these terms, then I shall modify your memory now and be on my way."

"Tell me what you want first."

"It is my duty still to protect that…to protect Potter from the Dark Lord. He stands no chance of winning right now, and the unpleasant task of training him has fallen to me, yet again." He remained standing by the doorway, his rigid stance proof that he was ready for anything that might happen at any given moment.

"Excuse me, sir, but how will you train him if you refuse to see him?"

"The connection he shares with the Dark Lord's mind is one that must remain closed. However, I can also connect to his mind through his dreams. At present, he dreams nightly of the deaths that have surrounded him and the things he has seen. The boy refuses to sleep, and is quickly deteriorating beyond anyone's control. In his weakened state, I have manipulated his mind so that I might be able to enter and converse with him there. Hopefully, by doing so, it will prevent the Dark Lord access as well, but that is only an assumption at the moment. First, he must sleep so that I may begin."

"What kind of training will you do? How can we be sure we can trust you?" she asked, worried more about Harry now than before.

"You cannot be sure of anything, Miss Granger, therefore you must question everything. However, when you return to Hogwarts, you may wish to speak to Albus' portrait."

"We won't be going back to Hogwarts," Hermione said sadly. "We have things to do and can't go back yet. No one knows if it will even reopen."

Severus eyed her cautiously, knowing he could easily invade her mind and extract her secrets, but deciding to let her keep them to herself for now. He knew of the Horcruxes, knew of their task to find them and destroy them, and he was fairly certain that she knew no more than he did at the moment. "I assure you that Albus would not have wanted you to give up your last year of schooling. Your task, I feel certain, is one you can complete while you continue with your studies."

"Harry says we have to start right away," she said, before her voice became stronger. "Besides, it is of no concern to you, right? What is it you wish for me to do?"

Pulling a book from his pocket and enlarging it to normal size, Severus stated calmly, "Give this to Potter, his birthday perhaps, and help him learn its contents to completion."

Hermione took the book gingerly into her hands, half expecting it to explode, or transport her somewhere unwanted; instead, it remained closed.

"It will not bite, Miss Granger."

Giving him a quick glance, she opened the book and thumbed through it. Spell after spell lined its pages, some defensive and others decidedly not. There were multiple illustrations for the proper wand work along with detailed instructions and incantations.

"Impressive," she murmured quietly.

"Quite," he replied. "I must go now, Miss Granger, but study that book and make sure that Potter does the same. I suggest you contact him in some way. If he continues on his current path of self-destruction, the world won't have the saviour that it apparently needs."

"I will, sir."

"I would recommend a Portkey as well." At her look of confusion, he elaborated. "An emergency Portkey for your parents, in case of an attack on your home. I feel it is inevitable that they will be targeted."

"Thank you, sir, I will."

"Your wards should be stronger, much stronger. However, the addition of the Dark Mark warning was very cunning."

"Sir," she said, questioning her sanity, but speaking nonetheless. "If Harry knows it's you he dreams of, anger will overtake his rational responses. You may want to consider not allowing him to see you."

With a slight nod, he swiftly turned and walked out of the still open door, disappearing with a soft 'pop' of Apparition and leaving Hermione alone to confront her extremely upset parents. New plans would have to be thought of and put into place for them, new wards conceived, as well as the explanation of things, such as Portkeys, to Muggles. For now, she had to finish packing and start reading, all the while hoping she had done the right thing.


End file.
